VZCZCXRO4188
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #0773/01 1210936
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 010936Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2247
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 000773 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT; NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2019 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PTER KISL ID
SUBJECT: GOOD GOVERNANCE ANTIDOTE TO RADICALISM IN SOLO, 
CENTRAL JAVA 
 
REF: (08) JAKARTA 2028 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  In 2001, radical Muslim hooligans roamed 
the streets of Solo City, Central Java, threatening to 
"sweep" all Western tourists from hotels.  The Ambassador 
recently strolled down those same streets, experiencing a 
rejuvenated and welcoming city.  Although pockets of 
radicalism still lurk around the city's outskirts, extremism 
has become largely obsolete.  The difference has been one 
immensely popular mayor, elected four years ago, who proved 
that good governance is the secret to transforming a troubled 
society into a healthy one.  END SUMMARY. 
 
A DYNAMIC MAYOR 
 
¶2.  (C) The Ambassador spent the weekend of April 25-26 in 
Solo to learn why Mayor Joko Widodo is one of the country's 
most talked about local leaders.  When Joko was elected four 
years ago, Solo was a morass of corruption and disorder. 
Soon after 9/11, militants from the Indonesian Mujahidin 
Council (MMI) barged into tourist hotels threatening to 
"sweep" all Westerners from the country.  Solo's most well 
known resident was Abu Bakar Basyir, the spiritual leader of 
the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group responsible for the 
2002 Bali bombings, whose Ngruki Islamic boarding school is 
located just outside Solo.  MMI and kindred groups scared 
away foreign tourists and extorted local citizens, while a 
corrupt mayor did nothing.  Solo became internationally 
notorious as a "nest of terrorism" and fell into decay. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In 2005, a self-made successful furniture trader, 
"Jokowi", won Solo's first-ever democratic mayoral election, 
bringing a new down-to-earth, can-do approach to running this 
quaint, ancient cultural center of 550,000.  Joko gave the 
Ambassador a personally guided tour of his proud 
accomplishments:  slum areas turned into greenspace; shanty 
dwellers made homeowners; and, unsightly street vendors moved 
into bustling marketplaces.  Joko showed the Ambassador a 
picture of how unsightly slums are bulldozed, angry crowds 
clashing with police, then added, "but these pictures are 
from other cities, not Solo." 
 
PRESSING GOOD GOVERNANCE 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Instead of using force, Joko chaired community 
meetings to persuade street vendors and slum dwellers to 
relocate.  He let people choose their own locations and then 
staged a grand parade to celebrate the move.  He moved 16,000 
street vendors to several centralized traditional 
marketplaces, providing land, the buildings, and 
infrastructure.  The new motorcycle parts market is the 
largest in Indonesia, with sales up four times because the 
market is convenient and orderly for shoppers.  The new wet 
market also is doing brisk business, in a rent-free sanitary, 
modern building.  As Joko walks through these markets, the 
vendors address him familiarly, not afraid to complain openly 
to him. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In less than four years, he has relocated 68% of 
slum dwellers to new houses, from flood prone riverbanks to 
pleasant communities, where families build their own homes 
with city assistance.  The city provides a small subsidy, 
community water and sanitation facilities, and guidance.  He 
moved ugly food stalls to a downtown street which turns into 
a festive food court at night.  He pioneered biogas community 
toilets, showers and cooking facilities in the poorest 
neighborhoods; antique, batik and other traditional markets 
centralized in attractive buildings; free education and 
health care for the poor; and children's libraries/community 
centers with free computers.  Two mothers in one poor 
neighborhood said the community center gave their children a 
new future, and they thanked Mayor Joko for it all. 
Everywhere, people said they love their mayor. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Joko's style is in contrast with that of many other 
local Indonesian leaders who arrogantly sit on their thrones 
and get angry when people complain.  Joko said he spends 
almost all his time among the people so that he can hear 
their needs firsthand.  He said he has staff who can push 
paper.  Joko told the Ambassador that his philosophy is that 
if the city can help the poor take care of their basic needs, 
all they need to worry about is finding a job. 
 
IMPROVING THE ECONOMY 
 
 
JAKARTA 00000773  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Joko's investment friendly policy is also helping 
create jobs--with only four percent unemployment (national 
rate is about 10%), Solo is rated as the nation's fifth most 
investment friendly city, an improvement from number 200 when 
he first became mayor.  He established a "One-Stop Shop" for 
investors, based on his own experience in the furniture 
business.  Textiles, furniture and commerce are strong and 
five new hotels are being built.  An April 2009 UK academic 
study on the investment climate in Solo reported that most 
businessmen describe the business license administration as 
friendly.  To discourage corruption and inefficiency, Joko 
drops in unexpectedly in city offices and gives out his 
personal cell phone number so that people can complain to him 
directly.  He also has a personal reputation for being clean, 
content with the wealth from his business. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Asked how Solo can afford to provide all these 
services when richer cities cannot even fix potholes, he said 
his small city budget is more than enough to do everything, 
so long as the money is wisely spent and none of it is 
stolen. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Solo's cultural heritage also is booming.  He 
branded Solo as Indonesia's "City of Performing Arts" because 
of its quality dance and theater.  During Solo's cultural 
coming out party last year when Solo hosted the World 
Heritage Cities Conference, the Mayor allowed a local dance 
company to perform a highly suggestive dance, just to see if 
the radicals would scream foul.  They didn't.  He knows that 
the arts require freedom to thrive and wanted to test the 
waters. 
 
TRYING TO CONVERT THE RADICALS 
 
¶10. (C) Joko's approach to radicalism has been a simple one: 
alleviate poverty, provide good public service, create jobs, 
and listen to the people.  When he first became mayor, Joko 
held many meetings with radical leaders, including JI leader 
Bashir, to convince them to not disrupt Solo.  Many of the 
radicals, really little more than hoodlums, were given jobs 
as security guards.  He holds weekly meetings with 
representatives from all the radical groups. 
 
¶11. (C) One reason why the mayor can reason with radicals 
might be explained by the underlying syncretic nature of even 
some of the most conservative Indonesian Muslims, whose 
Islamic faith is layered upon centuries of mysticism, 
Hinduism and Buddhism.  The Ambassador observed how this 
complex cosmology works when he visited the revered Sukuh 
Hindu temple in the hills outside Solo.  The temple's 
caretaker told the Ambassador that every powerful person who 
leads or hopes to lead Indonesia visits the temple to pray. 
These Muslims have included:  former presidents Suharto, 
Abdurrahman Wahid, and Megawati (who has slept at the temple 
recently); presidential aspirant Akbar Tandjung was to visit 
the temple a few days after the Ambassador visited; and JI 
leader Bashir has visited the temple twice, a fact which 
would ruin his fundamentalist credentials if this were 
publicly known. 
 
¶12. (C) The Ambassador's visit was covered by all the local 
media and some national press.  Stories reported how 
comfortable and welcome the Ambassador said he felt in Solo 
and about future Solo cooperation with the U.S.  A few days 
later, Joko held his weekly meeting with radical groups. 
They did not even mention the Ambassador's visit, but rather 
asked that liquor distribution be reduced.  Joko politely 
told them this would hurt tourism. 
 
PROMOTING THE CITY'S PROGRESS 
 
¶13.  (C) Joko embraced the Ambassador's suggestions on how to 
better promote Solo's image, still clouded by its previous 
reputation.  The Ambassador has already arranged for a 
National War College delegation to visit Solo in May and the 
mayor welcomed this.  There are plans to send visiting U.S. 
journalist delegations as well and the Ambassador has urged 
international media to tell Solo's story.  A Voluntary 
Visitor delegation led by the mayor is in the works for later 
in the year, to explore urban planning, cultural exchanges, 
inter-religious understanding, and so forth. 
 
¶14.  (C)  Solo is not unlike most of Indonesia-with tolerant 
hard working people who just want government to give them an 
opportunity to make a living and to live their lives as they 
want.  They elected a mayor who represented their 
aspirations, and the radicals have slunk away. 
 
JAKARTA 00000773  003 OF 003 
 
 
HUME